Ammunition making machinery



l Feb., 22, 1949. v A. F. GAGNE, JR 2,462,315

AMMUNITON MAKING MACHINERY Filed April 27, 1944 l |"l 65/f96- GlPatented Feb. 22,` 1949 I'I-I'ONy 'MAKING 'MACHINERY Antoine F. Gagne,Jr., PomptonLakes, N. J., 'assignor to Remington Arms Company, Inc.,Bridgeport,v Conn.,l a` corporation of Delaware ApplicationApril'Z'l,1944, Serial No. V533,088

` (ol. 11s-50) 2 Claims.

Thenpresent invention relates to a die'press, and .particularly toejector-means for positively ejecting an article from a die of.the-press, and wherein the article engaged in' the `'die is adapted tohave .its side wall laterally compacted `within the die. Anobject `oftheinvention is to provide ejector means, automatically actuated throughthe voperation, ofwthe'press, to the end that, irrespective of-variationinthe tightness with which .the articles are engaged withinthedie after they are formed thereby, theyare positively ejected inexact'timed relation with the operating cycle of the press.

While `the invention mayndapplication in various types of pressesyan'dinthe'iormation of various articles, the. presentdisclosure is`illustrated by way of example .in connection with ra multiplestationpress of the typedisclosed more fully in Patent No. 493,519,Richards, March 14, 1893. A press of this kindhasfan articletransferdial provided with article supporting aperturesadapted to receive andtransfer the articles from one operative station to another. During theformingV operations-upon the article, it may -be moved out ofvanaperture of theY dial by a suitable-punch intol avforming die-which,inthe particular machine shown in. the drawings, is above the dial, andis thereaftermoved back into an aperture of the dialfor-transfer-tovthenext station. way of example in connection witnthe formation ofbullets of armour piercing type, lwhich comprise a bullet jacket havinga steel core inserted therein, this core having a closure cap engagedover its heel end and retained inthe jacket by ycrimping over andflattening the open end thereof. Following the crimping and flatteningof the open end of the. jacket, the bullet is subjectedto a so-calledheeling operation, for the purpose of tapering slightly the heel end ofthe bullet, this tapering operation consisting in laterally compressingthe wall of the jacket adjacent its crimped end against the steel core,the jacket thus being tightly compacted between lthe tapered wall of thedie and the steel core within the jacket.

The ejector means employed Yin Aconnection with this operation usuallyconsists of a spring loaded plunger, requiring an extremely heavy springin `order to ezlfeetually disengageand eject the bullet from the die.-This has the disadvantage that the'disengagernent of averyrtightlycompacted bulletis uncertain, andis apt to be out of exact timed-frelation with .the .operating cycle 'vof fthe' machine Also -upon Y'sudden dis The invention is further illustrated'by.

engagement of thebullet from the die cavity the release of the extremelystrongspringis apt to impart such impelling movement to the'bullet thatit will be carried through the transfer'pocket of the Vdial and into theVplunger passage below the dial, with theV res-ult that thetransfermove-- ment of the dial will be interfered with.

lt is a further object of the present inventionto provide positivevejector means adapted to disengage the bullet from the -die throughtheoperation of the reciprocating gate of the pressanfd in timedrelation withthe punch-carrying under carriage. Thus, disengagementtakes place simultaneously with the lowering movement'pf the punch, andrelatively light spring means may be employed for ejecting the bulletfrom the-die to the dial, so that the impelling force thereon will besucient to engage V'it'."with the dial but will not be excessive.

With the above and other vobjectsi'inview-"ian embodiment of theinvention-is shown'finthe accompanying drawings, i and `thisven'ibodimeni; will be hereinafter more fully Vdescribed. "-'withreference thereto, -and vthe VL'invention will'he finally pointedout-inhthe-claims.

lIntlfie dra'wingsv Fig. 1 is a side -elevationof thef'dieacarrylngbracketv Vand the ejector means-associated therewith, and showingfragmentary portionsfofthe press for cooperationv therew'itlaithe"reciprocating gate of the press being ,shown-'in itsdown pcsi'- tion.

Fig.2rl is -a front elevation thereoL-partiallyin vertical section.

Fig.' 3 is a sectional plan-view, taken alongthe line 3-3 rof Fig. 2.

Fig. i4 is aside elevation, partially in'vertieal section, showing thebul-let engaged within the dierand the reciprocating gate in 'itsVpartially raised positionat the completion of theupstroke of thereciprocating under carriage, theA 'dote'a'nd dash Alines showing thesuccessive positionsv of the' gate as the under'cariage moves toits-'down position, as the dialstarts vits vtransfer movement, and asthe gate reaches its up position wherethe dial is intheprocess ofcompleting-its movement, which can V'be about 60 after top dead center.The dial may, vof course, complete the movement at top dead center. y

Fig. 5 is .aside elevation,partiallyin vertical section, showingthe-bullet on an venlarged scale in its state immediatelyprecedingthefheeling operation adapted to be performed'byltheidie-fandejector means of the invention.

1mg; 16 is a'- sectionalwview, alsoion-anfenlarged 3 scale, showing thebullet engaged with the heeling die.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral figures o14 the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the press, illustrated by way of example,comprises a table I mounting an intermittently rotatable transfer dialII disposed at its marginal portion in spaced parallel relation abovethe table, a die block I2 being mounted in the space beneath the dialfor coop-V eration therewith, as will presently more fully appear. Thepress includes a vertically reciprocating gate I3 disposed above thedial and a vertically reciprocating under carriage I4 disposed below thetable, this under carriage adapted to have up and down movement in timedrelation with the reciprocating gate during the raising movement of thegate. The dial is provided with a series of equally spacedcircumferentially arranged article receiving pockets I5 having yieldablesplit sleeve article gripping members I6 therein, these gripping membersbeing open at both ends and extending entirely through the dial. -Thedial is adapted to be moved intermittently-to carry the articlesinserted in its pockets from one to another of a series of stationsduring the latter part of the upstroke of the gate, and following the upand down movement of the under carriage, which occurs during the rstpart of the upstroke. The particular press illustrated is'of the typewhere certain operations which require down pressure of a punch upon thearticle are performed in dies carried in the die block I2 Ibelow thedial, while other operations whichV require upward pressure of a punchupon the article are preformed in dies mounted above the dial, thearticles being moved from the dial into the respective dies, and thenback into the dial duringthe stationary periods of the dial.

The-bullet illustrated by way of example is one ofthe so-called armourpiercing type, and comprises a bullet jacket I1 in which is engaged asteel core I8, the point of the core being pressed into a compactedpoint filling insert of lead I9 in the point of the jacket. The heel endof the steel core is tapered inwardly, asat 20, to provide a spaceforthe insertion of the rim of a closure cap member 2|, this closure capmember being retained by crimping over and flattening the open end ofthe jacket, as at 22.

The illustrated machine is adapted to assemble the closure cap 22 and toperform a series of nishing operations upon the bullet, the open endcdjjacketA with the assembled steel core therein being inserted in thepockets of the dial at one pointuand then fed into successive relationwith the several operative stations. The rst operative station is thecap feeding station where a cap 2I is inserted into the open end of eachjacket. At the next station the cap is seated, being forceably presseddownwardly into the jacket into covering engagement with the end of thesteel core with its rim engaging in the space provided by the taperedend 20 of the core. This cap seating operation is performed in a die atthe under side of the dial. At the next station the end of the jacket iscrimped inwardly, this operation being performed in a die at the upperside of the dial. At the next station the crimped end of the jacket isilattened, so that the bullet ls in the state as shown in Fig. 5.

The crimp flattening operation is performed in a die 23 provided in thedie block I2 at the under side of the dial in vertical line with thedial pocket 4 I5 and by a punch 24 carried by the gate I3 in verticalline with the die 23. In the base of the die 23 there is provided anelecting punch 25 carried by the under carriage I4. During the downstroke of the gate the punch 24 enters the pocket I 5 of the dial andpushes the bullet therein downwardly through the pocket into the die 23where it flattens the crimped end of the bullet jacket. During theraising movement of the gate I3 the undercarriage I4 moves upwardly,causing the punch 25 to carry the bullet out of the die 23 back into thedial pocket I5, the under carriage thereupon moving downwardly todisengage the punch 25 from the dial, this up and down movement of theunder carriage occurring during the rst part of the upstroke of thegate. During the latter part of the upstroke of the gate, and afterdisengagement of the ejector punch 25 and the attening punch 24 from thedial, the dial is moved to transfer the bullet carried therein from thecrimp flattening station to the next station. At this next station theheel tapering operation is performed upon the bullet, this being theoperation with which the die and ejector means of the present inventionare particularly concerned.

Upon the table I0 there is mounted a bracket 26 having an angularlyextending arm projecting over the dial and provided with a tubularcylindrical die holding head 21 in vertical alignment with the heelingstation of the dial next following the crimp fiattening station in linewith the punch 24 and die 23. Within the tubular head 21 there isengaged a sleeve member 28, having an annular iiange 29 at its lower endengaging the lower end of the head. In its upper portion the sleevemember is provided with a cylindrical piston chamber 30, and in itslower portion is provided with a cylindrical die receiving pocket 3|.the chamber 30 and the pocket 3I being connected by a reduced diameterpassage 32. The upper end of the sleeve is interiorly threaded and isengaged by the threaded plug end 33 of a plug cap 34,`bearing upon theupper end of the tubular head 21, tightening of the plug cap drawing theflange 30 upwardly against the lower end of the head 21 and thussecuring the sleeve in place. The sleeve is held against rotation by aset screw 35 screwed into the lower end of the head 21 and having itshead engaged in a pocket 36 provided in the periphery of the flange 29.The plug cap is secured against rotation by means of a set screw 31bearing upon the upper end of the head 21.

Within the chamber 30 there is provided a piston 38 having a lower stemportion 39 engaged in the'passage 32, a vertical stem rod 40 beingsecured to its upper side and slidably engaged at its upper end portionwithin a central passage 4I in the plug cap. An ejector pin 42 isengaged in a pocket 43 in the lower stem portion of the piston and issecured therein by means of a set screw 44 engaged in a recess 45 cut inthe side of the pin. Within the piston chamber there is provided a.helical compression spring 46 disposed between the plug cap and thepistonand exerting downward pressure upon the piston. A die block 41 isengaged in the die pocket 3I and is secured in seating relationY thereinby a retaining cap 48 screwed upon the lower threaded end of the sleeve28, this die block being provided with a die cavity 49 for receiving thebullet to Vbe formed, and provided in axial line. above this pocket witha cylindrical passage 50 engaged by the ejector pin 42, the lower end ofthis pin being projected into the die cavity in line with the lower endof the die in the normal'.depressedipcsitionof,theepistm and beingraised to the upper end of the vdie cavityi-f der carriage I4 andprovided invv its upper end with a pocket 52 for engaging the point endof the bullet. This punch moves upwardly during the initial upwardmovement ofthe gate I 3, pushing-the bullet` from the retaining'zsleeveI6 ofthe pocket1l5-of5the dial upwardlyinto the cavity49 d 'fthedie4.1', the taperedform ofthe diecavity impartinga slightly taperedformfto the3heel of thegbullet. Thereupon, and stillduringv the up,-ward movement of the gate I3, the punch 5I moves downwardly out ofengagement with the dial, andvitvis during this movement thatvtheejectori means of the present invention is adapted mlbeactuated.

The plug 34 is provided with a pair of spaced bearing ears 53, thebottom 54 of the space between these ears being inclined downwardly andrearwardly and having the upper end of the passage 4I located therein. Alever arm 55 is pivotally mounted at one end between the arms 53 upon apin 56, rotatably supported at its ends in bearing bushings 5'I in thearms and secured to the lever arm by means of a set screw 58 in the endof the arm engaged in a groove 59 in the pin. Upon the end of the armthere is provided a projecting lug 60 carrying a pressure screw 6|arranged to engage the upper end of the rod 40, when the latter isprojected above the inclined surface 54 in the raised position of thepiston, as shown in Fig. 4, and to depress the plunger rod throughswinging movement of the arm imparted thereto through a lazy-tongconnection with the gate I3. For this purpose the outer end of the leverarm 55 is connected by a pair of link members 52--62 to a fixture 53secured by screws 64 to the under side of the gate, the link memberbeing pivotally connected to the lever arm and to the Xture by crosspins 65 and S, preferably fixed to one of the links and inserted throughthe lever arm and fixture and through the other link, which is retainedthereon by means of washers 61 and cotter pins 68. Spacer washers 69 arepreferably provided upon the pin 65 between the lever arm and the links.In operation, the bullet is brought by the dial to the heeling station,the transfer movement of the dial taking place during the latter part ofthe raising movement of the gate I3, as indicated in Fig. 4. Thereuponthe gate moves downwardly to its maximum down position and during thisdown movement the punches carried by the gate are brought into relationwith the dies below the dial. As shown in Fig. 2, the punch 24 movesdownwardly through the dial at the station preceding the heelingstation, moving the bullet into the die 23 and flattening the crimpedend. During the rst part of the upward movement of the gate the underycarriage moves upwardly and downwardly, its upward movement moving theejecting punch 25 upwardly through the die 23 returning the bullet tothe dial. At the same time the heeling station punch 5I, also carried bythe under carriage, moves upwardly and downwardly, its upward movementforcing the bullet at the heeling station into the die cavity 49 of thedie 4l, the engagement of the bullet in the cavity forcing the ejectorpin 42, the piston 38 and the stem rod 40 upwardly, so that the upperend of the stem rod is projected above the inclined botspringe 46projecting: the;` ejector-pinto Ethel;- point;

te the: nexta station;- the completed'. bullet@ being;

tourL surfaces-54.; off the pluer. can. the under;carriage,completeslitszupwardnrnnfementatheleven1 arm; 55; whichswingsfin'v clockwise; direction: dur,-r ingthe, upward: movement: ofthe .gate, is brought:

s, into; cQntact; with; the proj ectediupper. endrof the stem rod, sovthat` asV theundercarriage *movesY downwardly,v withdrawing; theflpunch; 5 I from.; ther die cavity. the; ejectonr pinis-gpressedzvdownwardly; by: the;-` uernbinedA action ofi the;v lever:551/.and'pthe'L Spring? 45'. thus; positively. eXi-rting;1 disengaging4force1-upon the; upper end; of; the;` bullet: within the die.:cavity-.'-` Irresrnectivel ofi the; tiglrtnessh off the bullet inA the;`cavity its disengagement; and; ejectiontakes place simultaneously with.thepwitlrdrawing-:action ofrthe; puncn15al, the;actiornoffthe.

where :the bullet ,is-:fQreed-:back-,intothef dial pock.- et; 4As, soonas theb'ullet is fully` engaged:inthe.. dial. pocket, and: the; punch 5Idescends. below.` the dia-l,the dialg-iszrotated togtransferfthe-bulletf finally ejected by a suitable ejector punch.

The form of the invention illustrated in the drawing and describedherein is typical and illustrative only, and it is evident that theinvention is capable of embodiments in other forms, all falling withinthe scope of the appended claims, which are to be broadly construed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a die press, the combination with a table; article supportingmeans movably mounted on said table; a gate reciprocably mounted abovesaid supporting means; an under-carriage reciprocably mounted beneathsaid supporting means; a die having a die cavity xedly mounted on saidtable above said supporting means; an article ejector mounted in saiddie and movable into and out of said die cavity; resilient meansarranged normally to project said ejector into said die cavity, saidejector being adapted to be engaged and displaced therefrom by anarticle thrust into said die cavity from said supporting means; andmeans carried by said under-carriage constructed and arranged to engagean article in said supporting means to move said article therefrom upinto said die cavity and to subsequently retire downwardly therefrom; ofmeans to positively return the displaced ejector into said die cavityand thereby to eject the article therefrom comprising a stem on saidejector arranged to be moved from a normal position corresponding to thenormal position of said ejector to a displaced position by displacementof said ejector from said die cavity, a lever arm pivotally supported onsaid table, one end of said lever arm being arranged to engage said stemin its displaced position and to postively move said stem to its normalposition inV response to predetermined movement of said lever arm; andmeans associated with said gate constructed and arranged to impart saidpredetermined movement to said lever substantially simultaneously withthe retirement of said article moving means carried by theunder-carriage.

2. In a die press, the combination with a table; article supportingmeans movably mounted on said table; a gate reciprocably mounted abovesaid supporting means; an under-carriage reciprocably mounted beneathsaid supporting means; a bracket xed to said table having a cylinder; adie having a die cavity xedly mounted in the lower end of said cylinderabove said supporting means; an article ejector slidably mounted in saidcylinder having an ejector pin movable into and out of said die cavity;resilient means in said cylinder arranged normally to project saidejector 7 pin into said cavity, said pin being adapted to be engaged anddisplaced therefrom by an article thrust into said die cavity from saidsupporting means; and means carried by said under-carriage to engage anarticle in said supporting means to move said article therefrom up intosaid die cavity; of means to positively return the displaced ejector pininto said die cavity and thereby to eject the article therefromcomprising a stem on said ejector arranged to project upwardlyin 8 saidcylinder in response to movement of said gate.

` ANTOINE F. GAGNE. JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 493,519 Richards Mar. 14, 1893631,785 Gebhart Aug. 29, 1899 970,092 McDonald Sept. 13, 1910 1,176,897Hinde Mar. 28, 1916 1,241,517 Jacoby Oct. 2, 1917 1,949,407 BettucciMar. 6, 1934 2,229,393 Steffen Jan. 21, 1941 2,283,503 Johnson May 19,1942 2,329,325 Berry Sept. 14, 1943 2,331,490 Menkin Oct. 12, 1943

